Agricultural plants, fruits, vegetables, fruit trees, ornamental plants, and the like are seriously damaged by winged pests such as whiteflies, aphids, and thrips. As means for controlling such winged pests, proposed are chemical control, biological control, physical control, and so forth. As chemicals, organophosphates, carbamates, synthetic pyrethroids, and the like are used. However, when chemicals are used, many pests acquire resistance to the chemicals, and eventually the effects are reduced or completely lost in many cases. Moreover, there is a problem that many chemicals have harmful effects on human and animals and hence cannot be used frequently. Some biological and physical controls are also effective but are not fully satisfactory in terms of cost, versatility, and so on under current situations (see Non Patent Literature 1). Accordingly, there is a strong desire for pest controlling means which is inexpensive, highly versatile, and safe for human and animals.
On the other hand, for example, Patent Literature 1 states that, as a plant pest control agent very safe for human and animals, a glycerin fatty acid ester or a polyglycerin fatty acid ester containing a fatty acid having 12 to 18 carbon atoms, such as glycerin monooleate, diglycerin monolaurate, diglycerin oleate, tetraglycerin oleate, hexaglycerin laurate, and decaglycerin laurate, has insecticidal effects against mites and aphids.
Patent Literature 2 describes an insecticide, a miticide, and a microbiocide for plants, which contain one or two or more selected from polyglycerin monofatty acid esters, polyglycerin difatty acid esters, and sorbitol monofatty acid esters as an active ingredient(s).
As described above, an ester compound of a fatty acid having 12 to 18 carbon atoms and monoglycerin or diglycerin is mainly used in conventional insecticides and repellents containing a polyglycerin fatty acid ester as an active ingredient. Nevertheless, from the viewpoints of reducing the cost and the influence on the environment as much as possible, strongly demanded is a versatile control agent effective against various pests/diseases and having higher control effects than the above-described insecticides and repellents.